Spygate returned...

The story of Spygate arose earlier this year when New York Jets head coach, Eric Mangini, made it known that the New England Patriots stole defensive signals from the Jets' sideline. Patriots' head coach, Bill Belichick, met with Commissioner Roger Goodell, was fined $500,000 and the Patriots had to give up their 1st round draft pick in the upcoming NFL Draft (although, they do receive the 49ers' 1st round pick, which is 7th in the upcoming draft). The Patriots gave Goodell six tapes which contained "spyware," if you want to call it that, and destroyed the tapes. The story had not gotten much attention until a day or so ago, when Arlen Specter, Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, brought the issue up, believing that there is some information we, as a public, haven't been told about the situation and suspicious on why Goodell was so quick to destroy the tapes.

Today, news broke that the Patriots may have spied on the St. Louis Rams, tape recording their practices, before their 20-17 Super Bowl victory over the Rams. Golfer Matt Walsh, whom worked with the Patriots under Belichick until recently, also came forward about some potential illegal activities by the coaching staff. While he didn't mention anything specific, he basically said if the Senate called upon him to testify, he would and if he was guaranteed he wouldn't get penalized/in trouble with the law for what he said, he'd do so.

After reading these articles, I read some commentary, mainly by Patriots' fans, blasting anyone who is suspicious about the potential new findings or anyone who believes "spygate" could potentially tarnish Belichick and the Patriots' legacy as "haters," and attempted to legitimize what their favorite team allegedly did, by saying, "Everyone did it," "They're still the best," "Give the players some credit," "It wasn't illegal until this past season," and "Walsh is just trying to receive his 15 minutes of fame."

I'm sorry, but how is this NOT news? How is this NOT a big deal? Potentially spying on a team before a Super Bowl (and who knows when else) and gaining a clear advantage through this? If the Pats hadn't been caught already, I'd be more skeptical about these most recent stories, but since they have, I'm more curious and suspicious on the matter.

Walsh lives in the New England in the area with a wife and child. Why in the world would he come out with this information if he were lying? Why would he potentially put his family in danger based on lies? That doesn't make any sense to me. It sounded from the article that he has some information that could get both the league and the Patriots into some serious trouble. The only person/people he's trying to protect right now are he and his family.

I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about this in the spring and summer months. The legitimacy of professional sports are seriously being questioned. From referees being involved in gambling in the NBA to steroids in baseball to spying in football, the integrity of the professional sports world has come into serious question. I'm on no mission to tarnish the New England Patriots' or Bill Belichick's accomplishments, but want to believe in the integrity of the NFL. I want to believe that in every game, it's 11 on 11, with the only tapes aiding the clubs throughout the week being from games past, as opposed to practices of that very week. Perhaps that's just me being naive', but that's what I want to believe, that dignified coaching, player preparation, and player execution is what truly wins football games, without illegal substances enhancing players adrenaline or abilities or spying giving a team/coach extra information going into a contest, which they shouldn't have.

Tomorrow's an odd day in Super Bowl history. On one hand, we have the opportunity to witness history, as the New England Patriots look to finish the season a perfect 19-0. Yet, at the same time, it has to linger in the back of my mind, was this title, perfect record attained fairly? That'll be a question I hope to have answered in the next few months. It's been a sad and embarrassing time in professional sports of late, between the NHL bankruptcy and strike to the George Mitchell Report in the MLB to referees admitting to gambling on basketball games in the NBA to this potential disaster in the NFL. I hope that problems get solved and our four most popular sports can garner back some integrity we've lost over the course of the past few years.